Bad call

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AshlioFern

Edgesovereign
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Scifi, Urban fantasy, Dystopia, Post apocalypse, Modern...
«What do you think, Bocko? Are you up for it?»

They where standing in a dark alley, the ground still wet from the after noon rain and garbage lying everywhere. It stunk, but it was a nice hiding spot, and you couldn't really expect more in that part of the town. The street they where looking out at wasn’t much brighter, just a couple streetlights fighting away the darkness from the night that was falling over busy city.

Justin, a skinny guy with green eyes and dark hair that was currently hidden under a black hood, was clinging to the corner of the alley and eyeing a lady down the street who seemed to be waiting for the bus. She had a small yellow bird on her shoulder, so Justin didn’t have to worry about her companion attacking him. Because it wasn’t really the lady he was looking at, but her hand bag. And between his legs, stood a raccoon, currently eyeing the same bag.

Bocko didn’t say anything, he couldn’t talk, but Justin felt him agreeing. It was nice, being able to communicate without having to open your mouth. If only you could do that with human too… Then he might have bothered trying to get some friends. But having friends while living on the street was kinda complicated anyway, especially the life he led anyway. And you didn’t really need more than your companion to be happy, he felt.

With a thought he sent Bocko on his way. The chubby, grey body ran down the sidewalk, and no one payed him any attention. There where too many people and animals running around to notice that he was alone. Bocko made it over to the lady and easily climbed up the lamp post she was standing next to. The woman and bird where looking the other way, down the street where the bus would be coming from.

A small paw slowly reached into the handbag, and Justin was crossing all his fingers, but before he got to see Bocko's catch, a hand grabbed Justin from behind and yanked him violently back. He would have screamed out, but a hand pressed over his mouth, muffling all sound. A dirty, stinky hand which was much larger than hands ever should be, Justin thought.

«Found you,» a dark voice chuckled.
Justin managed to focus on his surroundings again, and realized he was suddenly surrounded be three guys. Three familiar guys, who where alle larger and stronger than him. Perfect, Justin thought for himself. The man holding him let him go, and Justin stumbled to his feet.
«Hey guys,» he said with a strangle voiced and coughed a little. The hoodie had cut into his throat when he was yanked back after his hood. «How’s it going?»

«Drop the small talk. Where is the money?»
Another one of them asked
«Money?» Justin asked with a innocent smile and straightened up, while he yelled for Bocko in his mind. Not that he could help much. The men's companion was of course a large dog, a ferret, and a snake - which Justin always felt like rolling his eyes at. Stupid cliche. Anyway, noen of the animals seemed very friendly, and he didn’t want Bocko to get hurt, so the message was to simply stay away.
«Don’t play stupid. The client told us you gave him the product and got our payment, so where is it?» the third one growled.

Bocko of course didn’t listen. He thought it was a good idea to throw a rock at one of the guys, and the next second the dog bit into his neck, making him let out a heart wrecking scream.
«No!» Justin yelled and tried to run for him, but he was grabbed before he managed to take even a step.
«And there’s your little, filthy rag, how nice,» the guy said and took Bocko from his dog. The racoon was hanging completely limb from his hand, and Justin had never felt worse. His whole body was shaking slightly, and he suddenly felt sick and about to pass out. This can’t be happening!
«Please, let him go,» Justin said, clinging to the hope that he had just passed out. He would feel it if Bocko died, wouldn't he? «I’ll get you the money! Someone stole them from me, okay?! But I’ll get them back!»

The guy holding Justin snorted. «That’s the most overused speech I’ve ever heard. You’ll have to come up with something more original than that. Tell you what. We’ll keep your little friend until the money comes, and if not, you’ll regret it.»
«No, you can’t!»
Justin yelled, and got rewarded with a punch in his jaw. The world got blurry for a moment, but he blinked it back into focus, nose bleeding and head pounding.
«Shut your mouth and do as we say, or you–«

He got interrupted by another scream. This time it was the guy holding Bocko, who was currently digging his teeth into the mans hand. Relief flooded Justin and he smiled. The next second he spun around and knocked over the guy that had been holding him, who was distracted by the ruckus. Justin got loose, and without giving himself or the others any time to think, he grabbed Bocko and ran as faster than he ever had.

****

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Name: Justin Raid
Age: 21
Appearance: Dark almost black hair, green eyes, slim figure, average height. Usually wears dark clothes, mostly jeans and hoodies. Always carrying a brown shoulder bag.
Personality: Witty, fast thinking, spontaneous, adventures, can be outgoing if he wants to but prefers to stick by himself.
Historie: Is living on the street, surviving be stealing and doing slightly illegal jobs for different gangs.

Curious_Raccoon.jpg


Name: Bocko
Personality: friendly, playful. Always up for Justins ideas, and always does whatever he can to help him.
 
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LYDIA VONNEVERE
The city was already alive and bustling with life when Lydia Vonnevere awoke. She lived in the middle of the city, "downtown", as some called it, in a penthouse suite in one of the most prestigious, expensive apartment buildings available. Lydia was the only daughter of deceased multi-billionaires, Aloysius and Marie Vonnevere. The opulent couple passed away when Lydia was eighteen -- a tragic car accident, taking both them and their companions to the other side. Lydia had inherited their immense wealth, making her the youngest billionaire in the entire country, and had made her first transaction paying her tuition to attend Prince University, to which she had already received entry due to her stellar academics.

Lydia slipped out of bed. It was Wednesday, one of her free days -- she was majoring in photography and theatre studies, and only attended classes on Monday and Tuesday. Most of her tuition happened online; Lydia didn't like crowds, and lecture theatres were her mortal enemy. She wasn't exactly shy, or scared of crowds and people -- she simply did not like interacting with people on a daily basis. It seemed tiring to her, so much that even simply purchasing something at a store was so much work, she had all of her groceries delivered.

Glad to see you're awake, said a sarcastic voice in her head. I was about to call an ambulance.

Lydia stopped and turned her head to the right, where her animal companion, a huge white wolf named Saia, lay on the floor. Saia didn't often sleep in Lydia's bed, as he referred to himself as a noble and dignified creature. Lydia knew he was afraid of getting fur on her bed.

"You can't talk, smart ass," joked Lydia. "How would you tell them I'm dead?"

Lydia, we both know you are too intellectually advanced for such vulgar language, scolded Saia. Now, it's ten thirty in the morning. Get up and function like a human being before I eat all of your books.

"Such a noble creature," muttered Lydia, grabbing a towel and heading for her bathroom.

I heard that.

After showering, Lydia slipped into a black tank top under a snug, fleecy sweater that hung from one shoulder and her favourite black skinny jeans. She was very petite and short, and was rarely seen without heels, to make herself appear taller, and, therefore, more of a threat. Lydia was often afraid of being attacked on the street, and despite her menacing wolf companion being more than capable of ripping out a throat or two, Lydia carried with her pepper spray at all times. She tied her long, white hair into a messy ponytail, her signature hairdo, and picked up her camera. She was planning to take some artsy pictures and spend the rest of eternity Photoshopping them, hiding from reality.

Saia was ready, having eating the gourmet steak Lydia left out for him. He sat by the front door with Lydia's purse beside him. "Thank you," said Lydia, picking up the purse. She carefully locked the door behind them.

The lobby was deserted -- thank God. As Lydia stepped out of the building's door, a figure smashed into her, knocking her to the ground. She managed to protect her expensive camera, thankfully, and Saia growled under his breath.
 
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Justin was surprised that he actually managed to lose them. The dog had followed them for a bit, but then it had fell back, probably not wanting to get too far away from his human companion. Luckily the guys sizes made it hard for them to run fast, and none of them had a bird. Then Justin would probably have been screwed.

With Bocko nuzzled in his arms, he kept running. Some because he wanted to get as much distance from them as possible, but mostly because he was panicking. He didn't know what to or where to go, so he just kept running, completely unaware of where he was. It was a miracle that he managed to not knock into people or things, but that was probably what years of running did to you. That miracle of corse didn't last forever.

A girl suddenly came out of a building, and Justing was already too close to move out of the way. So he slammed into her, then fell down and rolled over the side walk. He protected Bocko with his body, hugging him tight. When he stopped moving and looked up, a white wolf was practically growling in his face. He flinched back and was about to start rambling an apology, when Bocko let out a low hiss. It was probably ment to sound very frightening, but it sounded more like air was being let out of a ballon.

He looked down at him, and noticed blood on the hand he had held against Bockos neck. "No no no," he started saying, completely forgetting the wolf and girl. "Bocko, open your eyes!" Bocko was limp in his arms, barely breathing now. "Bocko!" he yelled and carefully shook him. Tears were streaming down Justins face and his breath was still heavy from the run.
 
LYDIA VONNEVERE
Lydia was about to start yelling at the man who crashed into her, when she saw him crying. She looked at the raccoon -- it was bleeding profusely.

"Oh no," said Lydia under her breath. "Oh, God -- Saia, no, get back," Lydia scolded. "Stop it -- "

Lydia crouched down beside the man. "I''m so sorry," she apologised, panting. "Oh, God, I am so so sorry."

She looked at the wound on the raccoon's neck. "I think it's just a scratch, honestly. He's probably in shock. I have a first aid kit in my apartment -- I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."
 
Justin glanced at her. Did she say first aid kitt? And an apartment... They probably should hide, the guys could still be chasing them. "Thank you," he said, his voice shaking.

Hugging Bocko against his chest, he stood up and followed her inside. He tried to stop crying, but it was useless. Bocko's heart was still beating, he could feel it against his own chest, but Justin's whole body was tensed up, expecting the beating to stop any second...

If anything happened to Bocko, he would never forgive himself. He wasn't even sure if he would be able to go on without him. Being completely alone, never feeling that connection again... It would be as if a whole part of him died.
 
LYDIA VONNEVERE
The elevator opened right into Lydia's apartment; she led the man into the kitchen, where the first aid kit was stored in a cupboard. She lay out newspaper on the bench. "Here, lay him down on this," Lydia instructed. "Saia," she said to her wolf, "get the first aid kit."

Be careful of this guy, Lydia, warned Saia. She ran to the open cupboard where the kit was stored and picked it up with her teeth.

Lydia began sponging the wound with a wet dishcloth, cleaning the blood away from the clean gray fur. "Sit, it'll be better for you," she said to the man, nodding toward the stool at the bench. "What's this little guy's name? He's beautiful."
 
"Bocko..." Justin mumbled and slowly sat down, staring at the raccoon with big, empty eyes. There where still some tears rolling down his face, but they where slowing down now. "A dog bit him..."

He stared at her while she worked, unable to focus on anything but Bocko. So he didn't notice how the apartment looked, how big and fancy everything was. Normally he would be busy stuffing things in his shoulder bag by now, if he ever happened to stumble over a place like this.

Carefully he held Bocko's paw and tried to reach for him in his mind, but there was no answer. He kept staring at his chest, that was slowly rising with each breath.
 
LYDIA VONNEVERE

"Bocko," Lydia breathed. "That's a lovely name."

She finished cleaning the little raccoon's wound, the bite clean of blood. Lydia wiped it with an antiseptic wipe. "It kills the germs," she explained quietly.

Lydia finished the little operation by gently wrapping Bocko's neck in a clean, soft bandage, securing it with surgical tape. She could feel the animal's heartbeat steadying. "There," she said gently. "Like I said before, he's just in shock. He needs to sleep a little, and then he'll be perfectly fine."

Lydia looked up at the man. He was very handsome, with black hair and bright green eyes. The way he cared for his companion struck her; she felt the exact same way about Saia. She couldn't imagine what would happen to her if her wolf was harmed in any way.

"I never caught your name," she said gently, smiling a little. Usually, Lydia had trouble talking to people, but this man was different -- the way he so openly cared for little Bocko made him more approachable. "I'm Lydia. Lydia Vonnevere."
 
He barely glanced at her before looking at Bocko again. "Justin," he said and carefully took hold on the news paper the raccoon was lying on, and pulled on it so Bocko lied in front of him. "Raid," he added and dropped his shoulder bag on the floor. Then he took his hoodie off, leaving him only wearing a dark green t-shirt.

Carefully lifting Bocko's upper body with one hand, he manage to lie the hoodie under him as a blanket. He then lifted the lower part of his body and pulled the hoodie down so it was completely under him, and after he wrapped the rest around his little body. He didn't want him to be cold.

"I'm sorry about this. We'll leave when he wakes up, and I'll pay you," he said and stuffed his hand down his pants pocket. He came up with a few coins, one packed of hum, and a curled up receipt. "Uhm, that's all I have..." he said and laid it on the bench beside Bocko. "Sorry. I'll pay you back some other way. I'll do whatever you want."
 
∇♥∇ LYDIA VONNEVERE ∇♥∇

"No, no, Justin, it's fine," said Lydia, shaking her head. "You don't need to pay me. Honestly, I'm fine. It's my making up for crashing into you."

Saia, go get the little guy a blanket, please, Lydia asked Saia in her head. Saia obliged, going to the linen cupboard.

"Look, I don't think it would be good to make Bocko travel anywhere, so you should probably stay here until he wakes up. It shouldn't be too long." Lydia crossed to the fridge, opening it and studying the expensive juices and ice teas. "Would you like a drink or something?"

Saia arrived with a fluffy white blanket in his mouth. He nudged Justin's leg, signalling the human to take it.
 
"Sure..." he answered Lydia before looking down at wolf. "Oh, thank you," he said and took the blanket. "What's his name?" he asked while carefully wrapping the blanket around Bocko. Then he snuck a hand under all the fabric and strok his fur, checking if he seemed cold. Bocko didn't, but Justin let the hand stay there. It felt safer, and he could feel his heart beating against his finger tips.
 
∇♥∇ LYDIA VONNEVERE ∇♥∇

"His name's Saia," Lydia answered. She poured them both large crystal glasses of Coke, probably a bit more than needed. "It's a lot, but it'll keep your adrenaline up. Sometimes you start to slow down after a big scare." She slid the glass to Justin.

Lydia's phone rang. She pulled out the expensive gadget -- it was her kind-of friend she met at Uni, Chelsea. She sighed. "Excuse me for a moment."

"What's up, Chels?" she asked, crossing to the huge, wall-sized living room window that overlooked the city.

"Can you come to the cafe? There's this poetry slam."

"Not right now."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Do you have a guy over?!?!"

"Maybe. It's nothing, really."

Chelsea began screaming, and Lydia hung up. "Sorry about that," she said to Justin as she returned.
 
Justin had taken a sip of the coke and then followed her with his gaze as she walked away. That had brought his attention to the room he was sitting in. He looked around, completely shocked.

"Where the hell am I?" he mumbled and looked at the glass he was holding. Crystal? Really?! "Oh my god, you're rich, aren't you?!" he bursted out and looked at her, laughter in his voice. What luck, stumbling into a rich persons home! This was exactly what he needed! Now he could get the money he needed and pay back those guys, and then he and Bocko...

His smiled died as quick as it came, and he was unable to even complete the thought. There was nothing to be happy about with Bocko lying unconscious in front of him. "Shit..." he sighed and placed a hand over his face. "I'm so stupid..."
 
∇♥∇ LYDIA VONNEVERE ∇♥∇

"Um, yeah, I'm rich," said Lydia, shrugging. "My parents were billionaires, and when they died I inherited their money." She took a sip from her Coke.

When he called himself stupid, Lydia sat in the stool beside him and put her hand on his arm. "Hey," she said. "You're not stupid. What happened to Bocko wasn't your fault."

You don't know that, said Saia. It could be.

Shut up, Saia.
 
I wish that was true, he thought and screwed his eyes shut. If he had only given them the money instead of getting the crazy idea of keeping it for himself, none of this would have happened. It had just been so much, and it was too tempting not to keep it. And he had't even spent it one something wise.. Just thrown it all away on expensive hotels and fun nights out. Idiot.

"Sorry about your parents," he muttered and took the hand away from his face, and straightened up in the stool. His stomach made a loud growl, and his cheeks turned hot. Crap. Oh well, maybe they didn't hear it... He hadn't eaten in a day now. The plan had been to steel that woman's money, and then hopefully they would have been able to buy themselves a small feast. Instead they where here, one knocked out and the other one struggling not to freak out.
 
∇♥∇ LYDIA VONNEVERE ∇♥∇

"It's fine," she said when he expressed condolences about her parents. "They died two years ago, and they were, like, never around when they were alive. I was raised by nannies. It sounds awful, but I don't really miss them."

He's hungry, I heard his stomach growl, said Saia. He sat on the sofa in the living room. Get him food.

Okay, jeez, Sai, you're not my life coach.

"Would you like something to eat?" asked Lydia. "It's almost midday."

I pretty much am your life coach.
 
"Uhm... Sure, if it's not a bother," he answered. He didn't know what to say to her story about her parents, since he had never known his. So he had no idea how it would feel like to lose them like that. But it didn't seem to bother her, so he probably didn't have to say anything anyway. "I'll eat anything," he added and looked down at the wolf.

It was a beautiful creature, that fur was amazing. He got the urge to stroke it, but that would be rude. You didn't touch other peoples companion, at least not without asking first. Just like you didn't go around touching people. But a compliment was always welcome, right? "You look amazing, Saia," he said and smiled a little.
 
∇♥∇ LYDIA VONNEVERE ∇♥∇


"Oh, really, you'll eat anything?" she challenged. "Well, let's see how you go with this super spicy stew I make."

As she was gathering the many ingredients for the stew and flatbread, she smiled when she heard Justin compliment Saia. Saia slid off the couch and trotted over to the kitchen area, jumping onto the stool on Justin's other side.

It occured to Lydia that Justin might be germophobic or something like that. "You don't have to worry about germs from him or anything, he's probably cleaner than I am," she said. "You can pet him, if you like."

Wow, thanks for throwing me around for free, joked Saia.

Hey, you moved there.
 
"I probably shouldn't, I'm the one full of germs," Justin sighed. When was the last time he had had a proper full body wash? At least a week. Most of his washes consisted of him standing bent over a sink at some public bathroom, cleaning himself with a wet rag. His clothes were luckily cleaned just a couple days ago, so hopefully he didn't smell too bad.

He loked at Saia and though that the wolf probably bathed all the time to stay so white. "And spicy is no problem at all, by the way," he said and looked over at her cooking. It made his stomach growl again.
 
∇♥∇ LYDIA VONNEVERE ∇♥∇

This human is stressed and worried, thought Saia, for Lydia's amusement. I must love him.

Well aren't you noble? replied Lydia.

Saia put his two front paws on Justin's leg and looked at him, studying his face carefully before sniffing him. I am acting like a common dog, rather than the noble wolf I am, all for your guest's entertainment. You owe me.

I owe you for everything, Sai, you keep me sane.

Lydia smiled as she chopped chicken and onion for the stew. "Really, I think he craves attention from a different human being. We don't go out much."
 
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